Xiaohongshu (RED / rednote)

Xiaohongshu, literally little red book, launched in 2013 as a guide for Chinese shoppers buying overseas products and grew into China's most influential lifestyle community. Internationally it is often called RED or rednote. Its core content is notes: photo-first posts reviewing products, restaurants, travel spots, and life hacks.

The platform's magic is search-like discovery. Users, still majority young urban women, treat it as the place to research any purchase or plan, and a recommendation culture called zhongcao, literally planting grass, describes making someone want something. Brands consider a Xiaohongshu presence essential, and products that trend there reliably see sales spikes.

Xiaohongshu briefly made global headlines in early 2025 when waves of American TikTok users joined ahead of a possible TikTok ban, an episode that introduced many foreigners to the app for the first time.